Interactive · 43 skill nodes · 112 connections

Cybersecurity Skill Map

An interactive map of the cybersecurity skill landscape. Click any node to see the modules, certifications, and adjacent skills. Use the pre-built career paths below to trace an end-to-end route.

43
Skill domains
20
Career paths
5
Skill levels
145+
Linked modules
60+
Certifications
🔍
IT / Infra →
⚖ Governance · Risk · Compliance · Leadership 🎯 Offensive · Pentest · Red Team · Exploit 🛠 IT / Infrastructure Administration 🧱 Foundation · OS · Networks · Crypto · Scripting 🛡 Defensive · SOC · DFIR · Detection · AppSec ☁ Cloud Platforms · Containers · IoT Entry Basic Intermediate Advanced Expert · Extreme
Foundation Offensive Defensive Cloud GRC
👆

Click any node on the map to explore modules, certifications, and adjacent skills.

Pre-built career paths

Each path shows 5-level skill progression. Basic → Intermediate → Advanced → Expert → Extreme. Click a card to highlight the path on the map.

🎯 Security career paths

Pentester (Web + Network)

Basic Networking + Linux → Intermediate Scripting + Pentest Basics → Advanced Web + AD Attacks → Expert API + WiFi → Extreme OSCP-level in 18-24 months.

Red Team Operator

Basic Networking + OS → Intermediate Scripting + Pentest → Advanced AD + Web → Expert Red Team Ops → Extreme Exploit Dev. 3-5 years.

SOC Analyst → Senior IR

Basic Networking + Linux/Windows → Intermediate Scripting + SOC → Advanced Threat Intel → Expert DFIR + Forensics → Extreme Blue Team lead. Entry to mid-senior in 3-4 years.

DFIR Specialist

Basic Linux/Windows → Intermediate Scripting + SOC → Advanced DFIR + Forensics → Expert Reverse Engineering → Extreme Threat Intel integration.

Application Security Engineer

Basic Web fundamentals → Intermediate Web Pentest → Advanced API + Secure Coding → Expert DevSecOps → Extreme Crypto architecture.

Cloud Security Engineer

Basic Networking + Crypto → Intermediate IAM + AWS → Advanced Azure/GCP → Expert K8s + DevSecOps → Extreme Zero Trust architecture.

Exploit Developer

Basic Linux → Intermediate Scripting → Advanced Pentest + Binary Analysis → Expert Reverse Engineering → Extreme Custom exploit development. The deepest offensive craft.

AI Security Practitioner

Basic AI fundamentals → Intermediate Web Pentest + Secure Coding → Advanced AI Security techniques → Expert Threat Intel on AI → Extreme GRC for AI. Emerging discipline.

Security Leadership / CISO

Basic Technical anchor (SOC or AppSec) → Intermediate GRC fundamentals → Advanced Sec Architecture → Expert Zero Trust design → Extreme Management + board reporting.

GRC / IT Auditor

Basic Networking + Crypto → Intermediate GRC + DPDP → Advanced Vuln Mgmt → Expert Sec Architecture → Extreme Management. CISA + CISSP combo.

🛠 IT & Infrastructure career paths

IT Helpdesk → Generalist

Basic Ticketing + user support → Intermediate OS basics (Linux / Windows) → Advanced Networking fundamentals → Expert Scripting + automation → Extreme pivot into specialist track. Entry-level; feeds into nearly every other path. 6-18 months.

Linux Administrator

Basic Filesystem + users + services → Intermediate Shell scripting + package management → Advanced Network services + security hardening → Expert SRE practices → Extreme Cloud Linux at scale. Certs: LPIC-1/2, RHCSA, RHCE, LFCS.

Windows Administrator

Basic Server + desktop basics → Intermediate AD + Group Policy → Advanced PowerShell + automation → Expert Exchange / SCCM / Intune → Extreme Azure / Entra hybrid. Certs: AZ-104, MCSE, Microsoft 365.

Mac / Apple Admin

Basic macOS fundamentals + support → Intermediate MDM (Jamf / Kandji / Addigy) → Advanced Identity integration + compliance → Expert Fleet management at scale → Extreme Security architect for Mac. Certs: Apple Certified Associate, Jamf Pro.

Network Administrator / Engineer

Basic Routing + switching fundamentals → Intermediate VLANs + firewalls → Advanced SD-WAN + load balancing → Expert Wireless + cloud networking → Extreme Network architecture. Certs: CCNA → CCNP → CCIE, JNCIA-P.

Database Administrator

Basic Schema + queries → Intermediate Performance tuning + backup/recovery → Advanced Replication + high availability → Expert Security + encryption + compliance → Extreme Cloud database at scale. Certs: Oracle OCA/OCP, MongoDB DBA, PostgreSQL CMP.

DevOps Engineer

Basic Linux + Git → Intermediate CI/CD + scripting → Advanced Containers + IaC → Expert Kubernetes + observability → Extreme Platform engineering. Certs: CKA/CKS, AWS/GCP Pro, Terraform Associate.

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)

Basic Linux + ops → Intermediate SLIs / SLOs / error budgets → Advanced Incident response + observability → Expert Capacity planning + chaos engineering → Extreme Platform reliability leadership.

Cloud Administrator

Basic Networking + one cloud (AWS / Azure / GCP) → Intermediate IAM + storage + compute → Advanced Multi-service architecture → Expert Cost optimization + automation → Extreme Multi-cloud + pivot to cloud security. Certs: AWS SAA → SAP, AZ-104, GCP PCE.

Solutions / Security Architect

Basic Broad tech exposure → Intermediate Networking + crypto fundamentals → Advanced Sec Architecture patterns → Expert Zero Trust + IAM design → Extreme Enterprise architecture leadership. Certs: CISSP-ISSAP, SABSA, TOGAF.